thankful!

i must first start by saying, happy thanksgiving everyone! i hope your day and night is filled with yummy food and great memories. we are in arizona for the week, and i wrote this before we left, and set it up to automatically post today. can someone please add my link to the host site for top ten thursday? thanks!

because it is thanksgiving, i will do my top ten things i am thankful for this year!

TOP TEN THINGS TO BE THANKFUL FOR:

1. FAMILY-i have the most incredible family EVER! both my immediate and extended. i am truly blessed to have you in my life. the last six months have been tough for some of us, but we are getting through it one step at a time. God couldn't have given me a better family! I love you guys.

2. FRIENDS-we have awesome friends. granted, we don't see a lot of them very often, but we certainly don't take our friendships for granted. we love you guys and are so glad you are in our lives.

3. STUFF-i know we sometimes complain that we "need" that certain something, but in reality, we have everything that we need. as bad as we think we have it sometimes, there are people who have it much worse. on a lighter note, our #1 stuff item would be the DVR. we are very thankful for it and all the shows that are waiting for us when we return. :)

4. LIVING IN THE USA-this is another thing that many of us take for granted. i have never lived outside of the country, so i don't really know how different it is. i just can't imagine not being able to worship God freely or have my own opinion about certain issues. it really blows my mind how bad some people have it.

5. KIDS-both jesse and i are so extremely lucky/thankful/blessed to have our two kiddos. God blessed us with you and we are so happy that we are your mama and dada! thank you for being such good kids.

6. JOB-granted, i don't really have an "official" job, but i am so thankful for it. it makes me able to stay home with my kids while also watching my sweet nephew. i am so thankful for jesse's job though, because that is the real reason i am able to stay at home. he works with amazing people who are there to support him and guide him in the right direction. so many people don't have jobs and that makes me sad. we are very blessed to get up each morning and go to work.

7. HEALTH-even though jesse hasn't been feeling well lately, he is healthy! there are so many adults and kids who are spending this thanksgiving in the hospital with a serious illness. i pray that God will heal their bodies and give them peace. even with all my kids' hospital stays, visits, ambulance rides, and urgent care visits, we are thankful that it has not been anything serious.

8. FOOD- there has never been a day where we have gone hungry. so many kids and families wont be eating themselves into a food induced coma today (like we will). i pray that they will have some sustenance for their hungry bellies.

9. TRIALS-this one might not make sense to some people, but we should be thankful for the tough times that we go through. we don't like them, but we should be thankful for them because it makes us stronger. working out and putting stress on your body makes you stronger. same things applies to our mental being and our faith. as painful as some things are to go through, they make us better, stronger people in the end. it's always important to thank God during the good times, as well as the bad times.

10. DOG-we love our charlie girl! she is such a great and loyal dog. she follows us everywhere and is so sweet and loving to the kids. she is our other baby. i know she is just a dog, but she is really part of our family. i really don't look forward to the day where she won't be with us anymore. think "marley and me" kind of sadness. we are thankful for her and her friendship and love.

well, there you have it. some things that were on my mind as the holiday season starts. i hope you all have a great thanksgiving today and think of some things that you are truly thankful for.

now...go get your head in the game for the black friday ads! hahahaha